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KKR, which has invested about $13 billion in India till date, plans to significantly scale up investments in the country as part of the New York-based firm's broader global expansion strategy. The investment firm expects to deploy $90-$100 billion globally in 2025 and India-the world's fourth-largest economy-is poised to account for a significant share of that capital."India will soon be the third-largest economy. We expect our activities here to increasingly resemble KKR's global profile over time," said co-chief executive Scott Nuttall.It plans to expand investments in healthcare, consumer, technology and financial services, along with infrastructure sectors such as renewables, roads, transmission grids and data centres, Nuttall said. In the past two years, KKR deployed $2.5 billion in India in private equity investments.Gaurav Trehan, partner and CEO of KKR India, said the firm is also eyeing investments in manufacturing, leveraging the momentum from the China-Plus-One strategy and the make-in-India push. "We haven't done much in manufacturing so far, but we're looking to go big into that space-either through private equity or private credit," he said.It is also exploring partnerships with Indian insurers, where the company will help insurers invest in assets alongside it.Live EventsNuttall said the process to bring its insurance business to India is already underway. "In some ways, we've already started. We're funding transactions in India through our insurance company," he said, citing its $600-million deal with the Manipal Group in June as an example.Geopolitical uncertainties are not expected to significantly impact KKR's operations or investment strategy. "A large part of our portfolio across Asia-around 90%-is local-for-local, meaning these businesses primarily serve domestic markets," Nuttall explained.KKR is continuously evaluating exit opportunities, whether through capital markets or strategic deals, Trehan said. "Over the next 12-18 months, you'll see a few more exits from our portfolio-but there's a lot more to come."KKR entered India in 2006 by acquiring Flextronics Software Systems (Aricent Technologies), much before setting up its India office in 2009.Trehan said life sciences remained a major focus area for the investor.After notching a fivefold return on its exit from Max Healthcare in 2022, KKR re-entered India's hospital sector last year, acquiring a 70% stake in Kerala's Baby Memorial Hospital (BMH) for about $300 million (₹2,500 crore). It also bought oncology hospital chain HealthCare Global (HCG) and invested in medical devices company Healthium. Recently, it took over Kozhikode-based Meitra Hospital through BMH.Consumption, which drives about 60% of India's economy, continues to be a compelling theme, Trehan said. "With the kind of capital and balance sheet we have, we're looking for strategic opportunities to invest in the financial services sector as well."On the infrastructure front, KKR is actively exploring large-scale green opportunities. "We continue to speak to multiple players in the country at a very large scale," he said. Add as a Reliable and Trusted News Source Add Now! (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel) Read More News onKKR investments in Indiaglobal expansion strategyhealthcare investmentsprivate equityinfrastructure investmentsinsurance partnerships in IndiaIndia economyKKRkkr indiahealthcare (Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel)Read More News onKKR investments in Indiaglobal expansion strategyhealthcare investmentsprivate equityinfrastructure investmentsinsurance partnerships in IndiaIndia economyKKRkkr indiahealthcare(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.) Subscribe to The Economic Times Prime and read the ET ePaper online....moreless
